Endorsement of the Integrity Council and CCPs

Fostering global international carbon market collaboration for climate impact

To accelerate decarbonisation and meet net zero targets, international carbon markets play a crucial role by enabling companies to complement the actions of governments and international agreements.

The Integrity Council collaborates with national and local governments, Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs), and regional initiatives to establish a harmonised global standard for high-integrity carbon credits. This standard empowers supply countries to embed these principles into local projects, ensuring broad market access.

Notably, governments representing over a third of the global demand for carbon credits have already voiced their support for the Integrity Council and the Core Carbon Principles.

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Alignment with governments

The UK government announced its formal intention to endorse ICVCM’s CCPs as part of its forthcoming consultation on carbon markets. In a statement on carbon markets issued at COP29, the Principles for Voluntary Carbon and Nature Market Integrity refer to the ICVCM setting baseline quality thresholds for voluntary credits.
The US government’s supply side principles draw from the work of the ICVCM. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) identifies the CCPs as industry recognised standards that Designated Contract Markets (DAMs) can look to as a key tool to adhere to guidance.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced that transition credits must align with the CCPs and Article 6 integrity requirements as mandated by the UNFCCC, and will explore ways in which transition credits can align with the CCPs, in consultation with the ICVCM.
The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has launched a national VCM carbon credit registry and issued Guiding Rules for The Integrity and Credibility Standards of Carbon Credits, following The ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles (CCP).

Endorsement and partnerships with International Government Organisations (IGOs) and other organisations

The Integrity Council is also supported by and partnered with a number of IGOs and multilateral initiatives including:

The World Bank in its recent State and Trends of Carbon Pricing Report highlighted the growing consensus around the importance of high-quality carbon credits in accelerating climate action and the pivotal role that the Core Carbon Principles play in setting the standard.
UNDP – has pledged to apply the CCPs and Assessment Framework to address quality as part of the High Integrity Carbon Markets Initiative.
UNEP – endorses and supports the ICVCM in developing best practice requirements for independent standards and market stakeholders.
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) references the ICVCM as a governing body setting standards for high integrity, as part of the final report on good practices in the VCM.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) welcomed the ICVCM’s work on increasing standardization and quality in the market and integrated the ICVCM’s standards into the Verified Carbon Credit Transactions Definitions.
NDC Partnership – the ICVCM is an associate member endorsed by two member governments.
Article 6 Implementation Partnership (A6IP) – the ICVCM is a partner, supporting the alignment of the VCM and compliance markets.
Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) – partnership with the ICVCM announced at New York Climate Week 2024 to advance high integrity African carbon markets.
ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) – the ICVCM is part of the international advisory board.